Saturday, December 31, 2011

I love potatoes. I love them even more for breakfast. There is a local diner in Eastown, Wolfgangs, that serves the best rosemary potatoes anywhere. We set out to replicate their success.

As many potatoes as you wish, diced.[I use a very sharp knife and dice the potatoes into small pieces. I find they cook better and more evenly this way. I expect that you could make them larger and bake them, but I haven't tried that].Seasoning. I use Mickey and T's All American. Fresh rosemary. Rinsed, dried, and smashed into teeny, tiny pieces.

I cook them in olive oil with a medium to low heat. I like mine a little crispy, so I crank up the heat the last few minutes.

Two hints that we use that make these potatoes the very best.

First, dry the potatoes after dicing. This absorbs the water and helps in the cooking. If you forget, it won't ruin it but it does help.

Second, whip this up the day before you want to cook them. Let the potatoes, the seasoning, and the rosemary sit overnight and get, as Emeril says, all happy.

Hmmm, delicious. I always make enough for two batches. Cheers to good eats!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

I am happy to report that our dinner on Christmas Eve was an unqualified success. Rosemary Garlic Chicken was a also perfectly complimented by a bottle of 2009 Gregory Graham Chardonnay. You can read more about the wine here. Of course, Deirdre had to snap a few images, because that is what she does...

I was even able to use my kitchen hammer to flatten out the chicken breasts:

Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper until they are of uniform thickness. Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and the garlic browns. (Don't burn the garlic.) Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, chicken broth, rosemary and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes longer or until the chicken is fork-tender. Remove the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Increase heat to high and boil the sauce until thickened or syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

Cook’s Notes:

Slice the garlic, do not crush it. I do not know why but the sliced garlic makes this dish taste a lot better. Serve with plain cous cous or rice. Use fresh rosemary, if possible. It really makes a difference in this recipe.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

This is an incredibly easy meal to make and it has a very elegant taste. I made it last night as part of my continuing birthday celebration (I had bronchitis for my birthday, so we pushed out the celebration day out to 2 December). Give it a try and serve it over angel hair pasta.

Place the chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat pounder or a rolling pin, lightly pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness, the cut the chicken into strips. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Mix 1 tablespoon butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl until smooth. Place additional flour in a shallow baking dish. Dip the chicken into flour to coat and shake off the excess flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium high heat until golden brown (5-7 minutes a side). Remove the chicken and place on a platter. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Bring the wine, lemon juice and broth to a boil in the skillet over medium high heat. Whisk in the butter flour mixture and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the capers, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Place the cooked chicken back into the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cook's Notes:

1. I sometimes cut the chicken into bite size pieces, instead of pounding the breasts and cutting them into strips.

2. I often serve this over angel hair pasta. It is a nice combination.